I Sold Buns, Chicken To Survive Before Nollywood Success — Patience Ozokwor

Veteran Nollywood actress Patience Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, has urged parents to resist the temptation to make life completely comfortable for their children, arguing that some struggle can prepare them for adulthood.

Ozokwor said children who grow up without understanding the effort required to provide basic comforts may struggle to appreciate or sustain what their parents worked hard to build.

“When you say, ‘I don’t want my children to suffer what I suffered when I was growing up,’ okay, that’s the best way to destroy your children.

“I’m not saying allow them to suffer. What I’m saying is allow them to struggle. Go through the process.”

The actress spoke in an interview with Femi Bassey TV on YouTube, shared on Wednesday.

Reflecting on the difficult experiences that shaped her own journey to success, Ozokwor said the lesson was not simply about enduring hardship but learning responsibility through the process of working for what one wants.

She recalled that before becoming established in Nollywood, she sold food at movie locations and audition venues to raise money for transportation.

“There was a time I was frying buns. When I first came into the industry, I would prepare chicken and dress it well. I would prepare buns for anyone you want to buy them.”

According to her, the small-scale food business became one of the ways she supported herself as she pursued opportunities in the movie industry.

She said she would save whatever money she made from the sales, even as she dealt with the responsibilities of raising her children and caring for her husband, who battled diabetes and hypertension for years.

“But maybe the next day you see the children standing, waiting for me to see if there’s money coming up for handouts and for all that. Yes, that’s how I grew up,” she said.

Ozokwor said she deliberately ensured that her children also understood that comfort comes with responsibility and that family wealth should not become an excuse for laziness.

She recalled that three of her sons helped with construction work while they were university students, stressing that she wanted them to understand the effort involved in creating the life they enjoyed.

“I don’t say that your children will go through all the pains you went through, but let them go through little pains. Then they will know that it is not easy to make,” she said.

The actress also cautioned parents against giving their children everything without teaching them how to preserve, multiply and work for what they receive.

“Don’t get this on a platter of gold. It’s not easy. Your father built three houses, four houses and you think you can balance on eating it,” she said.

Ozokwor further reflected on her own marriage and said she did not build her life around waiting for her husband to provide all her needs.

“I didn’t wait for my husband. I studied my husband. I knew the kind of person he was. I buttoned up and then tied my belt and I struggled,” she said.

She said the lessons her children learned from watching her struggle have helped them become self-reliant, adding that they are now comfortable because they understand the sacrifices that went into building the family’s success.

“My children know the pains of making life better and that’s why they are all comfortable now, struggling on their own,” she said.